


Rubber Bands

by hetalialoser



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alpha America (Hetalia), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Countries Using Human Names, Danger, Its only half planned out so bear with me, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, Omega England (Hetalia), Omega Oppression, Omega Verse, Smut, USUK - Freeform, a cute one wow, and alfreds like hooooo boy an omega, arthur doesnt want to participate really, but he wants the scholarship so, dubcon, francis is as helpful as a rock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-12-04 08:39:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11551563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hetalialoser/pseuds/hetalialoser
Summary: USUK; Omegaverse with sexism of sorts.Arthur doesn't want to participate in something that has no rules. This Trial has no rules. All the same, he needs the money.Too bad the boy's an omega.





	1. Flyer

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta read, created on a whim, based off nothing. Imagine the Hunger Games, except nobody dies and Arthur wants to get it on with an Alpha named Alfred.

_What a day_ , Arthur thought, seriously contemplating his existence as he felt his patience slowly ebb away. "Francis, if you do not stop _immediately_ I will kick you into next week." He said to the gossiping Frenchman behind him. He did not work his way from nothing to an advanced school to gossip. He was here to _learn_.

  
Francis just laughed at the remark. "I'm just explaining the obvious attraction between dear Antonio and L-"

  
"Yes, and that's _highly_ inconsiderate of you, considering the fact that one of them obviously doesn't want to reveal their feelings, now _goddammit be quiet so I can focus_ !" Arthur practically shouted. The teacher gave the two a look before returning to the lesson, and Arthur let his forehead hit the desk. This lecture was not going so swimmingly.

  
When the class was dismissed, Arthur let out a heavy sigh of relief. He wanted to talk with the frog to properly scold him about distracting people in class, but he'd have to do it in private. In public, he was just an emotional omega yelling at a beta, getting looks. He was tired of that.

  
"Ow ow OW!" Francis whined as Arthur tugged him by the ear, out the front door and into the side courtyard. "You know, Arthur, this is inappropriate behavior, for an-"

  
"Don't talk to _me_ about inappropriate behavior," Arthur snarled, dragging Francis behind the brick-brown school building. "I swear to God, I've worked _so hard_ to get in this class with you lot and if you mess this up for me with your yapping-"

  
"I get it, I get it," Francis said with a half-smile, raising his hands to show surrender. " _Mon Dieu_ , I was merely having fun. Nonetheless, I will try to restrain myself."

  
"Thank you," Arthur said and let go of Francis’ ear, rolling his eyes. If he wanted to say something else, it was cut off by Feliciano running up to them, auburn hair bouncing in the wind. “Francis! Arthur! What are you doing behind the school building? Anyway, our country’s going to host the House Trial again! Toris told me all about it!” He said, waving a paper in the air. His expression was...wait, was Feliciano worried? Arthur took the paper and examined it. A flyer. “What's the House Trial?”

Of course Arthur wouldn't know, he was from a poor family that lived in the middle of nowhere. Getting into a school had been one of his first social experiences with people other than neighbor omegas. This school was almost exclusively beta, with a grand total of four lucky omegas. As a general rule, omegas didn't _get_ school. In society, omegas were just… less. Arthur resented it, but his family was too strapped for money to buy him suppressants or pills. He was stuck as an omega, so he'd done what he could and worked as hard as he could to climb his way up, even if just a smidge. Hearing about things like the House Trial was somewhat embarrassing, since everyone else knew about it.

“The House Trial,” Francis began dramatically, “Is a game of patience. The best of the best are forced into it.”

“Thank you, you're about as helpful as a rock,” Arthur groaned. “Elaborate.”

Francis sighed. “The international law declared many years ago that the best schools all around the world were to gather the best students from different subjects and put them in a house together.”

Arthur felt his brow furrow. That sounded dreadful. “It's supposed to represent cooperation and friendship across the world,” Francis explained. “And it tests patience. There aren't _winners_ , per se. Everyone is given a slip that tells them personal rules of what they can and cannot do. Everyone's is different, and only the audience and the person themselves know what they are.”

“Audience?” Arthur frowned. “Who watches it?”

“Anyone who can,” Feliciano chipped in. Ah. Arthur nodded. People with electronics. He felt like an outsider, not knowing these things. Well, he _was_ an outsider. To be fair, Feliciano was, too. He'd just been informed.

“What about…” Arthur twisted his hand awkwardly. “Um. Nature...Uh...Mates…?”

Francis shrugged. “No omega’s ever been in it to my recollection. Then again, we've never had any omegas _at_ our school until this year. And it's a rather progressive one, too. Still...it’s not something you go willingly into.” Arthur didn't understand what Francis meant, so he ignored it.

Feliciano smiled hopefully, proud to be one of the four omegas let into the program along with a boy named Matthew, Arthur, and Feli’s own brother, Lovino. “Us omegas would do fine! We were talented enough to get into Beta school, we're smart!”

Arthur took a step back. “I want no part of it.”

“You don't choose to be or not be in it. If it's any consolation, you get a scholarship for the rest of your school years if you last until the end.” Francis said, biting his lip.

Arthur stared. “Really?”

The two nodded.

“...Then I'm making it in that Trial.”


	2. Slip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur is internally screaming, Francis is probably hiding something, and nothing's being answered.

Three months.

Arthur had to last in a stuffy, albeit large, house with annoying people for three months. 

Dammit, he'd gotten that scholarship for English and outstanding literature, not for social interaction and hiding heats.

_ But _ , the recesses of his brain persisted,  _ you have to. You can prove to the rest of the world that omegas are people, too. _

And he knew his brain was right.

So when the classroom door opened and they gave Arthur a slip of paper saying he'd been accepted, he got anxious. Not so much _nerves_ as a feeling that closer resembled neutral anticipation gnawing at his gut.

Francis had tried to encourage him to go through with it. “Don't let yourself worry over it,  _ mon ami _ . This is a good thing, that the three of you have made it in.” 

Francis said it, but Arthur noticed it didn't look like he meant it.

Three, Arthur was surprised to find out, of the selected people in his school had been omegas; Feliciano for his visual art, Lovino for his cooking, and Arthur himself for his admittedly great writing skills. Not that he liked to boast.

The days passed too quickly. Arthur had read the description numerous times in print form _and_ online (thank you, public library), but never once did it mention anything about prohibiting certain actions. At first, Arthur had intended to find rules involving the violation of one's privacy, but the rules didn't specify at all how one should act. No violence rules, no mating rules, nothing. Arthur began to slowly wonder just how safe this was supposed to be.  _ No, no, surely I'm overthinking _ .

A few days passed.

He still didn't think he was overthinking.

Or was he overthinking about overthinking?

“Francis,” Arthur called from across Francis’ bedroom, turning his head towards the blonde pretending to study on his bed. “Mmm?” was the French junior’s drawn-out reply.

“Isn't there...I don't know…” Arthur trailed off, rubbing his arm out of nervous habit. “Some sort of rule book? Guidelines? It seems there's plenty of information on  _ why _ , but very little on  _ how _ . Everything is vague.”

Francis’ eyes met Arthur’s, then fell to the floor. “Ah.” Arthur could see him swallow. “The rules are virtually nonexistent.”

What? That made  _ zero _ sense. Arthur raised an eyebrow. “No rules?”

Francis shrugged. “ _ Non _ , that's why many people don't wish to participate. That's also why many people do, though. There are so few rules. It's easy to get away with things. The only rules I know of are to follow your personal instructions and obey any changes they throw at you. Ah...and the event is known among eligible betas as a negative thing, because discrimination always seems to be worse in the House Trial. So I can't imagine...”

Arthur didn’t care to wait for Francis to finish the sentence. He was more worried and more determined than ever. If he was going to be forced into this, he was going to hold his ground, and he was  _ not _ going to be pushed around by annoying, filthy alphas and betas just because they forgot what decency was.

Arthur didn't want to hear it, so he waved Francis off. “Well, it'll become clearer as it happens, then,” he laughed with poorly-masked anxiety. "I wonder what the reason for all the secrecy is, though."

" _Mon ami_ ," Francis muttered, "they like to watch you squirm."

 

///

 

The first stage of the House Trial came through the mail.

He'd expected something, well...he'd expected a sheet of paper or something of the like, but the first part of the House Trial was two rubber bands in a small cardboard box sitting on his front porch.

“Great,” Arthur said monotonously after taking the box inside. “Rubber bands.”

He sat down on his living room couch to get a good look at the two objects of interest.

They were thicker and wider than most rubber bands, both different shades of purple, resembling bracelets in a sense; upon further inspection, Arthur noticed each band had small indents, like words were stamped into it, but he couldn't make them out. At the bottom the box, he hoped to finally find a much-needed explanation, but to his dismay he could only find a small card with the word  _ WEAR _ .

He groaned, but put them on his wrist nonetheless. They fit rather loosely.

_ Ok, terrific, now what? _ Arthur inwardly pouted, more frustrated than ever.

Luckily, his question was answered immediately; the second stage of the House Trial came in the form of a phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't a fun chapter to read, I'm sure,, I'm sorry. We're getting there. Next chapters will actually have interaction wow  
> Again, I was the only one who edited so there's bound to be mistakes.  
> Also I swear I'm done being vague,, everything shall be explained v v soon


	3. Paperclip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur is anxious as fuck and paperclips are the last thing on these alphas' minds.

_ Thank you for your participation _ is kind of a joke when participation isn’t optional, but that's what Arthur heard when he picked up the phone.

_ Trials begin on the first Friday of September. Participants will be given transportation to and from local schools assigned to them from the host country. Activities outside of the House Trial must be preapproved by the assigned school’s headmaster.  _

It went on and on, the monotonous voice tempting to lull Arthur to sleep.

“...Your slips will light up upon arrival.” 

Oh? 

Now what the hell did that mean?  _ More questions!  _ When would the curiosities end?

More formalities and transportation information poured through the phone, and then it cut off with an abrupt  _ click _ signalling the end of the recorded message.

 

Anxiety gnawed at his insides.

 

Well. At least he had some time.

 

/// 

 

Time had gone  _ way too quickly _ for his taste, but the day of approached nonetheless and Arthur found himself waving to a sympathetic Francis and a couple family members as he hauled his only permitted bag on the bus and shuddered.

 

The bus was overwhelming.

He bit his lip, praying to sweet baby Jesus that he wouldn't vomit at the sensory overload that clouded his brain.

Everything was just so  _ loud _ .

There were roughly one hundred people on the bus, people crowded three to a seat and smells mingling in the air. While he could smell the soft scent of a few omegas and the sterile stench of betas, his nose chose to focus on the dominating scent that was unquestionably alpha. Maybe Arthur was crazy, but he hadn't expected multiple schools to share a bus, and the sudden change of atmosphere was thought-consuming.

He strode towards the back of the bus, dodging a paper airplane and a couple catcalls to plop down huffily in the very last seat, overly aware of his surroundings. It felt like everyone was staring at him and nobody was acknowledging his presence at the same time. How was that possible?

He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, looking around at the students filling the bus as the engine roared and the vehicle took down the road. 

 

Arthur looked out his window and watched the grey city fade, bit by bit.

Grey sky, Arthur noted.

 

///

 

The novel was actually getting good. Arthur wouldn't admit that to his brother, of course, but his recommendation had been a good one, and Arthur was invested in it enough that the interruption was just cruel.

 

“Yo. Do you have a paperclip?”

 

Arthur glared at the newcomer leaning on the seat in front of him, more than a little annoyed that the crimson-eyed fiend had ruined the moment. He'd have to reread the chapter to get back into the scene, dammit.

“No. Piss off.”

The stranger alpha raised an eyebrow, smile not wavering. “Aha, so we  _ do  _ have the right little guy.” he said, his smirk looking more amused than anything else. Arthur subconsciously sunk into his seat ever so slightly.

 

The silver-haired stranger turned his head back to glance at his friend group. “Good to know.” he said with a final wave and walked down the aisle to return to his seat with the alphas crowded around.

 

Arthur blinked a couple times, fingers rubbing his shirt apprehensively. Every so often, he'd see a few of the boys in the stranger's friend group look back at him and comment something, but he had no idea what they were saying or how to take it. Eventually it stopped, and Arthur warily went back to hiding behind his book.

 

He read the chapter, but afterwards he couldn't recall a thing that had happened in it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the month-long wait, but y'all know me. Or if you don't, you do now. I suck.
> 
> (I'm hoping this chapter came out right??? I edit it myself, so i probably am really inconsistent.) Arthur is just a really anxious person in this fic lmao  
> *Alfred has already indirectly come into the story, Arthur just doesn't know it lmao*
> 
>  
> 
> Remember "personal rules" from chapter one? Everyone is given 2 rules that they must obey without telling other people what they are. I have a general idea, but i also wanted to ask you guys -- what do you all want to see? Any particular restrictions you think are a good idea? 
> 
> ALSO thanks for the comments?? Y'all are sweet?? I hope i dont ruin it for you guys :')


	4. Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter of Arthur and Alfred beginning their story of hormonal chaos.

The bus pulled up to The House, and Arthur eventually made his way off the bus behind most of the others. Unwilling to draw too much attention in a situation he didn't yet understand, he followed the rest of the group from the back, trying to get a glimpse of their destination.

They trekked through a large front garden. Rose bushes lined the curving, swirling paths to the right and left of the main one; flowers and bushes of all colors and species grew in a systematic arrangement across the vast garden. _Maybe living here will be alright_ , he thought with careful optimism. Sneaking into the garden was an option he would gladly consider whenever needed.

The House itself wasn't a house; it was practically a mansion. Just enough for...what? Somewhere from sixty to a hundred teenagers? The only thing keeping Arthur from considering it an estate was the fact that nowhere else on the property was there another building. _Stuck together_.

The group finally arrived at a kitchen. A really, really nice kitchen that was big enough for the bus-sized group of people and nice enough for a business dinner. Hell, he'd eat off that floor.

Arthur walked in to stop with the rest of the group as the escorts got everything organized for the introduction. He found himself somewhere between admiring and analyzing the room—it was tan, brown, and nice shades of comforting. Arthur liked the formal design, and the contrasting colors, and for a moment he was able to be distracted by the large house.

“Yo! Dude!” shouted a newcomer, halting Arthur's thoughts. Arthur turned around to meet gazes with a pair of bright, sky blue eyes.

“Excuse me?” Arthur said after a moment, shaking his head to return to his right mind.

The shouter approached him in the close quarters of the kitchen, and Arthur caught a whiff of something vaguely familiar, like he'd smelt it on the bus.

(Grass, honey, blankets, the general scent of warm, pleasant things. It shouldn't have smelled nice, but it did.)

The boy smiled brightly and shoved a hand in his blue school jacket. “You're the omega Gil met, right?”

“Who?” Arthur said, losing his sense of manners in the haze of alpha scent and genuine confusion.

“The guy who interrupted your intense romance novel.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose. Who a—Wait, how did you know it was a…?” The boy’s grin widened, and he laughed a bit at Arthur's perplexed look.

Arthur's face started to burn, and he knew it must have turned pink. “Well, excuse me for not being able to read minds like you apparently can so well!” He snapped defensively.

Arthur was utterly annoyed, and intended to leave the conversation with this stranger before he was further embarrassed, but his arm was gripped suddenly and he was surprised enough to turn back around. “Dude, relax,” the boy said, and Arthur huffed, a little worried by the strength in the grip holding his arm in place, but decided it was the best option to attempt to calm down anyway. _Not_ because this guy was suggesting it.

The hand loosened its grip a bit once Arthur seemed less tense. “I didn't expect that...” The boy mused, not seeming to find his bluntness inappropriate. “You haven't had much experiences outside of your little omega community, have you?”

And Arthur really hadn't, but he certainly wasn't pleased that this person could tell so easily. His felt his throat go just a bit dry at the thought of being an open book. “That's none of your business, is it?” He insisted with renewed stubbornness.

The boy laughed again, like he knew something Arthur didn't, and let go of Arthur's arm in favor of offering his hand. “I’m Alfred F. Jones!” he said, a formality that Arthur considered very overdue. Despite his defiance, he felt compelled to take the hand anyway.

It was calloused, but it was warm and... kind of nice.

“...Arthur.” he finally replied. Alfred hummed approvingly. “Ya got a last name, Artie?”

“ _Arthur_.”

“Arthur Arthur? What kind of a name is—"

“ No, it's _Arthur,_  not _Artie_ , and my last name is Kirkland, if you must know.” He frowned.

Alfred nodded. “Good to meet ya, Artie. Hope we can be allies in the Trials!”

“Allies?” Arthur asked, getting so very tired of being confused.

Someone shouted Alfred’s name from back in the crowd of students. Alfred looked behind his shoulder, and back to Arthur.

“Looks like I need to go. Hey, by the way, I totally want to borrow that book you were reading eventually. It's gotta be good, your emotions were changing constantly when you read it. It was real cute.” and with that, the sunny alpha Alfred F. Jones waved, winked, and walked off to join his friends, leaving Arthur Kirkland a conflicted, blushing mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh?? This feels rushed, apologies, I've edited it SO much and AO3 is bullying me
> 
> ALSO!! To y'all that commented on the past chapters that I didn't respond to -- i got awkward about replying so late that i chickened out lol :') but thANK YOU KIND SOULS, YOU MAKE ME FEEL BLESSED !! ILY ALL


End file.
